Hurricanes Eta & Iota Take Heavy Toll in Central America, Mexico

Two massive hurricanes have devastated communities across Central America and Mexico. Rampant flooding and landslides in mountainous areas have taken lives and forced thousands to evacuate.

Our partners in Nicaragua, Guatemala and Mexico have all been affected by Hurricanes Eta and Iota. We are responding to this crisis by raising funds to support the farming families who will need help to recover.

Please give here.

Our staff and Board are in contact with our partners at Maya Ixil, ACODIHUE, SOPPEXCCA, and CESMACH to identify key needs and how we can best help.

In Guatemala, Miguel Ostuma, general manager at Maya Ixil, tells us families had to evacuate their homes due to flooding and landslides. Over 250 people have lost their homes and are staying at three shelters in Santa Avelina. Co-op members have reported serious damage to their coffee and maize crops, putting their income and food security at risk. Beekeepers lost 71 hives and 20 coffee farmers had significant damage to their coffee plots.
In Nicaragua, women in our farmers market program with SOPPEXCCA have lost as much as 80 percent of their food crops, such as lettuce and onions. Co-op members have lost up to 50 percent of their corn and bean crops that they rely on for food throughout the year.The hurricane also had an impact on cash crops with an estimated 20-30 percent loss of coffee and a number of cacao trees. Lilliam Perez, SOPPEXCCA’s food security coordinator, is preparing a report on the hurricane’s full effects.
ACODIHUE in Guatemala reported that families lost over 200 hives and sustained severe losses of food crops, though no major damage was reported to coffee plots.
In Mexico, intense rainfall in Chiapas has caused extreme flooding and landslides that have claimed lives. Our partner co-op CESMACH reports heavy food crop losses and potential impacts on their coffee parcels.

We will be sending supplies to replace losses in home gardens and apiaries, and we’ll continue to provide updates from our partners on this blog post. We invite you to support our efforts to help families affected by Hurricane Eta here.